I didn’t wake up early enough on Sunday to play this, so I haven’t logged any more hours on the game this week. I’m off Monday and Tuesday of next week for 4th of July, so I’m sure I”ll get some time in then.

I was wrong with how Faris’s secret is revealed! I’m just going to tell you, because it’s not that big of a deal, and I like some of the dialogue around it. Faris is a woman, and I thought the big reveal would happen when they went through the canal, and the monster therein attacked them because it only attacks women. Then I remembered that Reina is in the group, so even if the attack did occur (which it did as part of the plot), it really wouldn’t matter.

What actually happened was the party had to travel through a flooded section of abandoned ships after they were becalmed. They reached a dry spot where they could rest, and Reina went off to another room to change, but when Bartz and Galuf tried to get Faris out of wet clothes, that’s when they discovered the pirate captain was a she. Galuf was a bit put out and confused, but Bartz insists that “Faris is Faris.” I loved that.

The only explanation she gives for why she pretended to be a man is because she was rescued by pirates, and they (the pirates) “don’t take women seriously.” Uh huh…I’m not sure if something was lost in translation, but I’m pretty sure there are more pressing reasons for her ruse. I also think her and Reina are sisters (or she’s her mom), because the pirate captain and the princess have similar necklaces. Additionally, for some reason, even though I know Faris is supposed to have a “pirate accent,” whenever I read her lines aloud, I give her an Irish one lol.

This game is much longer than I suspected it would be. I think it might be longer than the first and second (not put together, but individually). I hope by the time I finish, they’ll have another one out.

Note: I added the “Progress” indicators mostly to put a space between the game cover and the text below. It’s annoying when you’re trying to highlight and delete the information from the week before, and you wind up deleting the picture as well. The progress for games I’m playing is going to be completely arbitrary based on the game. Just let me know in the comments if you’re curious what I mean by any of them.

Thanks to Cheap Boss Attack for cluing me into this one, and introducing me to Christopher Odd whom I have finally have a chance to watch. I like Let’s Players who take their time and read/explain everything. I’m trying to pick up tips and good habits for when I get my rear in gear with it, and I want to emulate the people I like and who do it well. I’ll be watching more of Mr. Odd’s stuff in the future. He has a lot of Let’s Plays well organized by alphabetical order. There seem to be newer games, which is a bonus for me, since many of the LPers I watch now are more of the retro set.

What is consciousness seems to be the main question of SOMA, and I’ve been fascinated by that concept for a long time. It’s one of the reasons I studied psychology and enjoyed The Matrix. It’s also why I gravitate towards these types of stories. This game has a definite Stranger Things vibe to it. There is some grade A, horror, mind-fuckery going on, and I can’t wait to see what else is revealed even though I can only watch during the day and when my husband is around. The jump scares, chases, and psychological horror were enough to have me shaking violently by the end of the first, hour long video, and I could never play a game like this. If I’m playing it means I can’t cover my eyes haha.

I caught a livestream last night, which is always exciting! I was in the midst of checking email or comments before bed, but I missed the last one and wanted to pop on for a moment to at least say, “Hello.” I want that tank Alis seems to have acquired. It was just plowing through ice floes. The Phantasy Star vehicle options are pretty bad ass, though you can still be attacked by enemies o.O

I’m in the home stretch with this series and starting to contemplate whether I”m going to play through the trilogy myself or go directly to Andromeda. It seems like you have to do co-opt in order to add more war assets, and I’m not sure how good I’d be at that. I don’t play well with others. Hopefully, there will be an option where you don’t have to do that, but I’m not going to worry about it right now.

I need to vent about this game. It is far ahead of its time in terms of graphics, which it would be more apt to call cinematography. It draws you in with its narrative, challenges you with its puzzles, and makes you want to throw your controller through the screen with its difficulty.

Maybe I should specify what I’m venting about. Since I watched both Out of This World and Heart of the Alien as one Let’s Play, I didn’t bother to break them up into separate entries. Perhaps I should have, because Heart of the Alien was an unauthorized sequel that was not sanctioned by the creator of the first. That gives me some small comfort in terms of the ending, but then again there is no authorized sequel to override it, and the end of Heart annoyed the fuck out of me. I know it’s 26 year old game, but it’s only polite to warn about…

******SPOILERS*******

Lester, the main character from Out of This World, dies at the end of Heart of the Alien. I mean I guess I didn’t expect it to have a happy ending, but it was kind of a cop out. I kind of hoped he’d figure out a way to get back to his (our) world instead of dying by electrocution, being carried away by Buddy, cremated, and having his bones entombed in a spiky casket that was placed in the center of the freed slaves’ settlement.

Also, Heart didn’t follow what happened at the end of World unless they just didn’t show Buddy and Lester on that back of dragon at the end of Heart because they’d already shown it at the end of World. I don’t know…things just didn’t seem to follow. There were inconsistencies between the two narratives, which clearly showed that not only had it not been made by the same person, but they people who did develop it didn’t pay attention to these details.

The end didn’t seem fitting for a scientist brilliant enough to stumble upon (even inadvertently) dimensional travel. Was the place Lester ended up even somewhere in this galaxy let along this universe? Was it just another planet that he managed to jump to with his particle accelerator? It just seems like if you’re going to have a story where a character is catapulted through worlds, you’re at least given some inkling about where that world might be.

I’d have even been okay if there was no way for Lester to return to this world, because the technology for him to do so either didn’t exist or was destroyed when the slaves escaped. But then I guess I can also see the merit in him dying as well. Science can be dangerous, and he was thrust into a vastly harsh and unforgiving world of fierce beasts and hostile, humanoid aliens.

Let me know what you think about Out of This World/Another World and Heart of the Alien if you’ve ever played/watched it.

.Games Added to Backlog: 5

Viva Piñata – This is one of the games that my coworker gave me along with the Xbox 360! It looks like a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to playing it when I set the system up.

Pillars of Eternity – Not sure where I dug this one up from. It’s a party based RPG. I’m not sure exactly what that means (or how it differs from the RPGs I know and love), but the Google tells me that the Mass Effect Trilogy is an example of one, so sure, why not? Oh, I think I added this based on comments/conversations about my 30 Day Game Challenge.

Planescape: Torment- I know this was is definitely due to 30 Day Game Challenge convos.

Tales of Vesperia – I’ll talk more about why I added this one in the Miscellaneous section, but I’m super excited to add it!

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen – Same for this one!

Total Games in Backlog: 119
Change from Last Week: +5

Games Added to Watch List: 4

Bioshock – I added this without realizing Christopher Odd does a Let’s Play of it! I only found that out today.

Year Walk – Another one added on the recommendation of Cheap Boss Attack.

Bloodborne – CBA strikes again. I think Mr. Odd does an LP, but I also think one of my IRL friends has one out as well. I don’t know if he’s finished it yet though. I think he might have gotten discouraged, because he wasn’t getting a lot of hits. Making LPs or any kind of video for that matter can be a double edged sword. The more content you have, the more likely you are to get subscribers, but not getting subscribers can sap your motivation to make content.

Syberia – I initially had this on my backlog, but I saw Christopher Odd has an LP of this, too, and honestly, I’m okay with watching games. There are certain ones I definitely want to play myself, but the bottom line is I love video games. I love the stories they tell. I love how they bring people together, and I’ve always loved watching people play them, especially games I myself am not that great at. While I’m sure I’d do fine with a point and click (and if I’m really into it, I can always play it myself later), I’m perfectly cool with watching the game unfold.

Total Games on Watch List: 31
Change from Last Week: +4

Games Purchased This Week: 0

Miscellaneous

Thank you again Cheap Boss Attack for the gift of games! So I went from wondering how I was going to play Lost Odyssey with neither the game nor the console to play it on, to figuring out where it falls on my upcoming backlog, and I only have my friends to thank 😀 Plus I now have Dragon’s Dogma, another RPG that I’ve never heard of, but that’s received much accolade and Tales of Vesperia, which I was holding off on putting on the backlog until I purchased/played Tales of Berseria, but now Vesperia is going to happen first, since it’s in my possession.

I cleaned off my bureau last weekend, and my husband just has to figure out how he’s going to move the mirror on his. I think he was planning on putting half the mirror on mine and leaving the other half on his, but since my dresser is a little shorter than his, we have to devise another plan. I could possibly put the 360 in the same place as the PS3. They’ll just have to learn to get along.

What are you currently playing and/or watching? Is it something new or old? Is it a first time run or a replay? What’s the genre? Would you recommend it? What’s on your radar to play next?

I keep getting recommend Pillars of Eternity and Planescape: Torment as well! As soon as I have access to a PC I’m going to play them, I feel like they might be better on a PC than a console as they’re more old school-esque RPGs

Ooh, that SOMA game sounds intense (and awesome)!! 😀
I’m hoping to play more Shovel Knight this weekend. My boyfriend and I were playing it together, but we’ve both been so busy we never got to finish it (we’re right near the end). It’s so much fun. 🙂

I have a 4 day weekend coming up too! It’s Canada’s 150th Birthday and I also took Friday off because a certain tattoo is finally getting finished! So pumped 😀 After that’s done, I’m visiting my folks for the weekend and hoping to finish FFIV then get back into BoTW.

I love pirates and people with pink hair! FFV seriously needs to get bumped up on my To Play list. Lost Odyssey looks really interesting! I’ll have to check that out some year. My consoles all get along with each other so I’m sure yours will too. 🙂

You’re welcome! Enjoy the games! Odd has tons of great LPs, particularly Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1-3. I’ve watched tons of Souls LPS and his are definitely the best because of his thoroughness. Glad you’re digging SOMA! One of my all time favs.

SOMA is fucking amazing. I watch one video at a time and it’s completely engrossing. I just saw the one where he was walking on the sea floor after the dome burst. I have some ideas what might be going on, but I’ll keep mum until I know more.

Omfg SOMA. That game seriously fucked me up. I haven’t shut up about it since I finished watching it. I have so much to say. I’m going to try to write up a review soon.

Btw expect something in the mail from me. I remember we were talking about Final Symphony and you said you hadn’t heard it. Well just like you with your games, I have a digital copy, and I wound up buying a physical one by accident. I thought it was the second Final Symphony, but that isn’t out yet according to the internet. Hopefully soon since I want to list to and review it.

I had to stop thinking about it and find distractions, because it fucked me up so badly, but it also gave me shit ton to think about and connect a bunch of other stories to. Like, it was freaking weird. I was reading three other books that had similar themes, and I made some FFVII connections that I’ll talk about when I review it. I drew some diagrams lol. I think I read on the wiki that there might be a prequel movie or something, which would focus on what happened on PATHOS-II before the comet/meteor impact. Ack, I have to stop talking about this, because it’s dark out and I’m a wuss puss :p

I think we were talking about that on Discord! I meant to watch a bit of it, but wound up falling asleep. I’ll have to check out the video of it. I’m REALLY curious how the hell they beat FFVII in eight hours.